Tuesday Treat: Marinades

It is getting to that time of year... grilling season! I'm so excited. I love a good steak, especially after it has been marinated for a while. I found this awesome list of Cheap, Healthy Marinades from 2008. I hope all the links work. I haven't made my way through all of them yet. Check out the list to see if any tickle your fancy.

Marinades can be used to tenderize meat and to flavor it in the process. It can also be used to flavor vegetables too if you are feeling creative. All recipes are different but I'll tell you what I have been told about marinades. Keep in mind that I'm no expert, this is just what I have learned over the years.

First of all, you need to let whatever you are marinading age a bit before you use it. Fresh cuts are not always the best... but makes sure they aren't spoiled too. There is a fine line between aged and spoiled. You can use your normal tenderizing methods. The hammer and tenderizing salt are a go-to in my house. Take your frustrations out on a steak for a couple minutes. It is very liberating! After that, toss your cuts into a lined pan, completely covered with the marinade, wrap it up, and refrigerate it for anywhere from 4 hours to 48 hours. The longer it sits, the more time the marinade has to break down the tissue of the cut. Dispose of any used marinade once you drain it off of your cut (used raw meat sauce = bad).

The best steak I have ever had (seriously) was back in 2003 at a wedding in Alabama. My neighbor got a 5 gallon bucket, dropped a large amount of top sirloin cuts in, and covered it to the top with cheap, off-brand beer. That is literally all he did. He stuck the lid on it and put it in his cellar for the two days before the wedding and then fired the grill up right after his niece said "I do" to a goofy looking guy in a Hawaiian shirt. The food was incredible.

Do you have a favorite marinade? My mom is a fan of bbq sauce type marinades. I like Dale's myself. Or a crap ton of Soy Sauce. Lots of salt but yum.

Tuesday Treat: Beer Battered Cheese Sticks

When I was younger, I walked to and from school every day. No, it wasn't up hill both ways. But it was a decent mile path each way. Rain or shine, frigid cold or sweltering heat, drifting snow, or flooded streets be damned, we walked to and from school every day until we got drivers licenses. And cars. Since I worked at the library, it took me considerably longer raising the funds so I walked well into my Junior year of High School. Most of the time, I didn't mind. Why? Because just before reaching the school, I passed a dairy bar. On the way to school, they were closed. But on the way home, they were open for business. My favorite items were the pizza hoagies and their cheese sticks.

Now, these cheese sticks were the mother of all cheese sticks in my opinion. They were perfectly golden brown, about 2/3 the length of an un-sharpened pencil, as big around as a quarter. They were greasy, messy, and 100% unhealthy. And $4 for an order of 5. I picked up an order a couple times a week to eat during my walk home. It occurs to me now that I might have raised the needed funds a bit sooner had I laid off the cheese sticks but oh well.

To my disappointment, the dairy bar burned down to the ground sometime near the end of my Junior year I think. I've never found another place that makes cheese sticks like this place. I've searched for recipes countless times but always seem to find ones that make puny cheese sticks that end up tasting like cardboard. Until now.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 cup beer
4 cups safflower oil
1 egg white
1 pound mozzarella cheese sticks (frozen)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and white pepper. Gradually pour in the beer. Whisk briskly. Cover and allow mixture to stand 90 minutes.
2. In a large, deep skillet, heat the safflower oil to 375 degrees.
3. Whip the egg white into the batter. Dip mozzarella cheese sticks a few at a time into the batter.
4. With a slotted metal spoon, place coated cheese sticks a few at a time into the hot oil. Fry 2.5 to 3 minutes, until a crisp golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Ideas:

• Make sure the cheese sticks are frozen when you dip them into the oil, otherwise they will melt and run everywhere.
• Roll the dipped sticks in breadcrumbs before frying for an extra crunch.
• Don't like cheese sticks? This recipe works for everything! Zucchini, mushrooms, pickles, tomatoes, etc.

Wednesday Weird: Live by Eating Frozen Beer?

So apparently so some guy in Alaska is a genius. Okay, I'm being sarcastic. I have a feeling that will be a reoccurring theme on Wednesday Weird.

Clifton Vale got himself stuck in an Alaskan snowdrift and was in his truck for 3 days before rescuers found him. Vale decided to drive north along a road, just to see how far he could get on it. I am assuming, because it is Alaska, that there was a snowstorm and that it was not the brightest idea to drive on that road.

Vale got stuck in a snowdrift and couldn't dig his truck out. He figured he was stuck, and with no cell phone reception, he settled in to wait for rescue. He sat for 3 days in his truck wearing jeans, a jacket, and tennis shoes. I bet he was thankful for that coat! He climbed into a sleeping bag that he had stashed in the truck and wrapped a towel around his feet to stay warm in -17C temperatures.

As bad as the situation was, Vale was not without some comfort. Stuck right along with him were a few cans of Coors Light that had frozen through. He cut the cans open like it was a tinned meat can and ate the frozen beer with a pocket knife. After 60 hours in the truck, Vale lost about 16 pounds and began to hallucinate. No word on how much the Coors Light only diet had on the hallucinations.

Vale was rescued when his employer noticed he did not come in to work on time. Yay for punctuality!

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS